Spring Break 2010!

It's Spring Break and the kids have the week off to relax and unwind from all the pressures of preschool! Since we are not doing anything too exciting like hitting the beaches of Maui, we decided that Easter Egg coloring would be just as much fun! Maybe next year we can color eggs on the beach, but this year, we are here! So, Chelsea and Makayla came over and we colored eggs! It was so much fun and the kids colored 50 eggs in record time! Since it was raining and then snowing when we finished, we packed up and headed off to McDonald's for lunch and some playtime!

The week is still young......who knows what other crazy Spring Break adventures will happen!

Tanner and Carter! Carter really got into the whole egg coloring thing and even drank the blue dye he was using for this egg! Apparently it was really delicious as he kept going back for more drinks! It's non-toxic, at least that is what the box said, and he didn't/hasn't had any side effects so that is good! It's always fun to discover a new drink, and what better time to do that than during Spring Break!

Chelsea and Makayla!



Carter!

Tanner not only dyed eggs, but he also dyed his hand as well! This stuff STAINS!!! I still have not been able to get it off completely so it is going to have to wear off over time I guess!

The prized eggs!

Tanner dying eggs!

Chelsea and Makayla creating beautiful eggs! The difference between girls and boys is huge! Tanner rushed through eggs faster than I could keep up, the girls were creative and took their time! Their eggs even had more than one color on them, used stickers, and did tie-dye! It was great!

Carter and his egg!

Chelsea!

Makayla!

Freezer Meals Take 4

Over the weekend some friends and I put together freezer meals! I have become an addict of these over the past year! The first time I ever did anything like this was with this same group of girls at Dinner Thyme. I thought it was awesome! We had fun and the food was great. The price however, was a little steep for my budget! So, we tried it again a few months later where we each made a few dinners and swapped them. It turned out great again, but there was something missing. Then, a few months ago I did a freezer dinner party with some girls from MOPs. Tami hosted us and she had it all together! It was organized, easy, yummy, and cheap!! I was totally blown away and excited to finally have been shown just how to accomplish this! I couldn't wait to tell my girlfriends about it!

So, we organized our own freezer meal party! We picked out 9 recipes so that we could each put together 9 dinners for a total of 45 meals all made that night. I offered to host and do the bulk shopping and get it all organized. Now, I am not really an organized person. Maybe I am a little bit, but its more organized chaos! I just don't have that sense of urgency to have everything in order! This made me nervous that I wouldn't be able to pull it off, or that it would be really expensive! I did not even end up doing the shopping until late the night before. Then, I drug my mom with me and we loaded up! Shopping in bulk is super fun, and also very cost effective! I did the majority of my shopping at Winco, used coupons and deals at Albertson's for chicken and some other things, and got the meat from Gem Meat Packing Co!

I felt a huge relief after getting the shopping done, seeing how inexpensive it was, and knowing that we could really pull this off! I then broke down each meal by price and was even more amazed! We could each make 9 meals that served at least 6 people for $55. Total. $55! It was fun to see the contrast in price between some of the meals! We had 2 meals that were in the $3 range-yes, we will actually feed 6 people for $3 and it's got meat in it and tastes delicious! And then one meal that was our high dollar meal at $10-break out the fine china and candles! We paid almost $200 at Dinner Thyme for 8 meals! I was pumped and so was everyone else! We plan on making this an ever other month occasion!


I can't speak for everyone, but things for us are very tight right now. We have to watch every cent, and actually, it has been a very healthy thing for us to start to really delve into that and learn different ways to accomplish the same things we have been accustomed to. It's been fun and we have really been learning about money and different tricks other people have successfully used in the past that we would love to emulate!

This is (huge) me, Lisa, and the back of Alicia putting together the meals!

Lisa, Adrienne with her cute new haircut, Holly and Alicia!


Some of the bulk food!

How Do You Do Simple?

I have pondered this question and this word now for a while. Every so often, I will hear people say they are trying to simplify things, life. What does that mean and how is it done? I want a simple life, or do I already have one? It confused me for some time and I never really got an answer from anyone in the process of simplifying that made sense to me. The girl who does my hair and I always talk about stuff like this, we share the same views on a lot of things and so it's nice! This morning when I was getting my hair done, we talked about simplifying our lives through reducing our housing costs. Neither of us had any easy fix-it's, but it was nice to brain storm and dream! We both felt like if we could, we'd sell our homes and buy less expensive ones! I was still unsure of the word Simplify so I looked it up on Webster's. Here is what they say:

Main Entry: sim·pli·fy
Pronunciation: \ˈsim-plə-ˌfī\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): sim·pli·fied; sim·pli·fy·ing
Etymology: French simplifier, from Medieval Latin simplificare, from simplus simple
Date: 1759 : to make simple or simpler: as a : to reduce to basic essentials b : to diminish in scope or complexity : streamline c : to make more intelligible : clarify.

I love the words streamline and clarify in the definition. I read somewhere that we actually only use about 20% of the things we own, the other 80% is considered clutter and not necessary. I went through our house recently and tried to get rid of this 80%. It was extremely hard and I don't know how big of a dent I made, but I at least made a dent.

And then I got to thinking that it might not necessarily be about the things but more the bills. We are in a position where we only have a mortgage and utility bills. We have gotten rid of everything else, even cut up, and do not own a credit card. We don't have one for emergency's or booking travel. We rely on our debit card alone. It's a little scary sometimes, but so far, so good. After all, this is fairly new for us. I wish Tyler could drive a newer 4 door truck instead of his 1970's pick up so we didn't have just one family car-but I suppose that makes it simpler, right? It sure makes it interesting and the kids can hear Daddy coming home a mile away!

So, how can I continue to simplify the bills that we do have? I think about this often as I do not bring in any money to our household, and I really don't think I could go back to working now. I can justify this by pricing out 3 kids in day care-it's just not going to happen! And on the simple factor, not getting ready for work and rushing the kids out of the house by 6:45 every morning, has really simplified things! Plus I can cook. I am actually kind of good at it, I enjoy it, and I love having the time to do it!

Out of all the bills, the mortgage is obviously the biggest. We couldn't refinance in this market. The house next door to us, which is comparable to our house, went up for sale yesterday for almost $100,000 less than we owe on our house. Ouch. I know most people are in this position, but when it's right next door to you, it sucks. It's not the only house around either, there are many more just like it! I never really liked the house next door until yesterday! So, in my head I have it all worked out, smaller mortgage, smaller house, smaller house bills=simplified, right? Easier said than done. The realistic approach is to just deal with the way things are and know that someday it will all level out again. Of course, that is not the way Tyler and I seem to operate, if there is a will, there is a way, and we'll find a way to make it better, or more simplified for our family!

And, since the house next door is for sale and empty and CHEAP-we are interviewing for some good neighbors!

So back to Simplifying; I am still working on it, trying to figure out what it means for our family, and how to accomplish it. I love to hear what everyone thinks simple is, please share with me. I am so curious about it. I know it will be something different for every family, but I also know there will be many similarities. Some on a grand scale, and others on an easy fix! I am looking for the easy simple fix to simplicity if it exists!

Are You Savoring This?

Last night when Tyler and I were laying in bed talking before going to sleep, he asked me if I was savoring this pregnancy. I laughed, savoring was not how I would describe my feelings! My first response was no because this pregnancy has taken such a physical and emotional toll on me. I have done a horrible job of controlling my crazy pregnancy hormones, had some awful nightmares and terrible bouts of anxiety! Some days I do not even try to control it. If I need to cry, I cry, and I know I have allowed myself to get my feelings hurt over silly things which has lead me to be angry. So here I am, the angry, crying, anxious pregnant girl! What a mess. But at this point, that is just the way it is and I am so blessed to have such caring family and friends for still continuing to check in on me! I have felt so lucky to have been able to share hilarious stories and ideas with many of my friends in MOPS and my Bible Studies, that has really been a great thing for me! From freezer meal parties to hearing things that make me not feel alone anymore, every Monday and Friday morning has been spent with a big smile on my face!

And physically, don't even get me started there! My body has not gotten a break! Maybe I can blame the physical ailments for causing my emotional havoc! Maybe not.....! I have gone from sick and tired to aching and tired. There was no 2nd Trimester bliss like I had with the other two! The more I thought about all this, the more I was so excited to see my doctor and tell her that we were going to schedule a c-section and get my tubes tied, even though I know she will fight me on it and probably won't let me do that unless it is medically necessary! Luckily, Tyler has offered himself up and will be in good hands in a few months, joining many of our friends in the sterile club! But then I felt guilty for not savoring it, or not having the desire to savor it because it is the very last time I will ever be pregnant. So, I suppose the answer is both. With 2 1/2 months to go, I am savoring the fact that we are being blessed with another child, savoring the idea that God believes in us as a family to raise this child, and savoring the movements of the baby inside of me. I have, of course, already reached the point where I am ready to have my body back. I sort of feel like I haven't really had full control of it since I got pregnant with Tanner!

I am excited for this little bundle of joy to come into our lives. It will be here before we know it and so I am going to make an effort to try to savor this more than I have been! It has been so much fun getting the crib and dresser and starting to get the nursery decorated and organized! It really does make it that much more real, that much more fun, even though I know this baby will be with us in our room for a while too!

Our Ski Lesson Graduate!

This Sunday was Tanner's last ski lesson. He really did learn to ski too! It was such a wonderful experience and I am so happy that we did this! When I saw him coming down the mountain I was so proud! I think I had tears, however, I seem to have tears a lot lately! Lots of "pregnant moments" for me with this pregnancy! I feel like I cry all the time!

Chris and Cammie and my mom all came up to watch Tanner ski and to see Daddy take ski lessons too! Next winter Cam, Chris and I are going to take lessons so we can join the rest of the crew up on the mountain! I can't wait for Carter and the new baby to be able to do this too! What fun!

Tanner with his gear on ready to go! We get there early because Daddy's lessons start before Tanners and his big treat during that time is a corn dog and blue Gatorade! Yummy!



Tanner (in the red and black) with Johnny and his teacher Hilaire on the way over the the quad chair lift! I can't believe he skied down that huge hill! I'm not sure which frightens me more, the chair lifts or the steep mountains! Neither seem to phase Tanner which is great!



Tanner fell asleep on the way home holding my moms hand! This happened right after he took off his shoes and socks and asked her to hold his tippy's! He was really worn out!